Taipei City reports rise in suicide rate among women

Staff writer, with CNA

Wed, Nov 07, 2012 - Page 3

The suicide rate among women aged between 25 and 44 years old in Taipei last year increased by nearly 23 percent from a year earlier, the city government’s Department of Health said yesterday.

The suicide rate for Taipei women in the age group rose 22.7 percent to 10.8 per 100,000 people last year, up from 8.8 per 100,000 in 2010, an official with the department’s Medical Affairs Division said.

Based on more than 1,000 reports of suicide attempts made by female residents in the age group last year, 30 percent of suicide attempts were linked to relationships, 14 percent were related to family issues and 11 percent were caused by marital problems, the department said.

Because a high percentage (77.5 percent) of women in Taiwan aged between 25 and 44 are employed, they could be under higher risk of suicidal thoughts due to the combined stress of work with family and relationships, it said.

Taipei’s Suicide Prevention Center called on women to find ways to relieve their stress and to maintain positive social connections

Though the city focused on the rising prevalence of suicide among female residents in the 25 to 44 age bracket, the figures also showed that the suicide rate among male residents of the same age remained much higher than that of women.

The male suicide rate in the age group rose 7.3 percent to 17.6 per 100,000 people last year from 16.4 per 100,000 people in 2010. The center urged people with suicidal thoughts to call a suicide prevention hotline at 0800-788-995.